lasco financial services money guide january 2015 issue

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Money Guide

LASCO FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

January 2015 || lascojamaica.com

Feliz Año Nuevo

Bonne Année

新年快乐

Happy New Year!

2015

In This Issue:

The 3 best new year’s resolutions

you’ll ever make!

(Page 3)

Did you know?

(Page 5)

What is debt consolidation?

(Page 5)

In Next Issue:

Personality Feature -

Maria Campbell: her journey to

Branch Network Supervisor

2

All the best for 2015 from the management and staff

of

LASCO Financial Services Limited Money Guide

“Here’s to the bright New Year, and a fond

farewell to the old; here’s to the things that

are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold”.

- Unknown Author

3

It’s a new year! Yes, it’s

that time once again when

we make our list of per-

sonal goals and life chang-

es we hope to achieve over

the next 12 months. Many

of us list things such as

‘exercise more’, ‘read

more’ or ‘eat healthier’. These are great

resolutions to make. The challenge with

making resolutions however is that we of-

ten set ambitious targets with no timeline

for achieving them and no plan for staying

on track after the ‘new year hype’ fades

away.

This is perhaps why 25% of resolution

makers toss their list aside after the first

week and only 46% keep at it for longer

than six (6) months. To avoid this, let’s

make some specific resolutions with a

clear plan for achieving them.

1. Set aside 10% of your income for

savings and investments

For those who do not have a saving and

investment plan in place, 10% may be a

lot to start with. Instead, begin with just

1% of your monthly net income. In other

words, if your monthly net income is

$50,000, you should save $500 at the end

of this month. If you set aside an addition-

al 1% per month, you will be setting aside

the targeted 10% for savings and invest-

ments by October! If you are already sav-

ing and investing 10% of your income,

challenge yourself to increase this allot-

ment by 1% per month for 5 months. To

achieve this goal, you may need to sacri-

fice a monthly recreational activity but this

sacrifice will allow you to better afford

more meaningful activities in the future.

Be sure however, to give yourself an af-

fordable but enjoyable reward for each

quarter (not month) that you stay on

track. Ensure that you have adequate

safeguards in place to prevent yourself

from dipping into the cookie jar before

your goal is achieved. You should also

consider finding a saving partner or club

(such as a company thrift club) to help

keep you motivated.


The 3 Best New Year’s

Resolutions You’ll Ever Make

All the best for 2015 from the management and staff

of

“Here’s to the bright New Year, and a fond

farewell to the old; here’s to the things that

are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold”.

- Unknown Author

4

The international delivery company UPS was founded in 1907

by two (2) teenagers with just one (1) bicycle and US$100.

There are no words in the English language which rhyme with

the words orange, bulb, silver, month or purple.

The fast food giant McDonald’s serves 75 hamburgers per sec-

ond.

Snails breathe through their feet.

Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in the

technology company for US$800 in 1976. Today it is worth

over US$58 billion.

2. Establish a ‘rainy day fund’ equiva-

lent to your monthly expenses for 3

months or more

We all know what the ‘rainy day fund’ is;

it’s that little ‘mattress money’ used to

mitigate against emergencies and other

unforeseeable financial challenges such as

loss of income or property damage. So,

how do we establish our ‘rainy day fund’ if

we are already setting aside money for

savings and investments? First, calculate

what you typically spend on rent/

mortgage, utilities/bills, debt repayments,

dependents and food over a 3 month peri-

od. Upon receipt of your annual salary in-

crease, begin setting aside the entire addi-

tional income (yes, 100% of it) each

month until you have reached your goal.

You’ll never know when a need may arise.

Once your ’rainy day fund’ is established

you can reallocate your increased earnings

based on your needs. It is important to

note that this emergency fund should be

kept separate from your savings and in-

vestments, and again, ‘anti-cookie jar

theft safeguards’ are necessary!

3. Learn more about personal finance

This resolution may be the least specific of

the 3 but it is perhaps the most important.

The old adage; ‘knowledge is power’ still

rings true today. Arming yourself with fi-

nancial knowledge will make you better

equipped to properly manage your financ-

es to meet your needs. There are many

great sources of personal finance tips and

strategies that you can take advantage of

(such as this monthly magazine). Here is a

list of publications that you can subscribe

to and/or purchase from your nearest

bookstore: The Economist, Wealth Maga-

zine, Kiplinger Magazine, Forbes Magazine,

The Wall Street Journal, INC Magazine,

etc. Subscribe to as many as you can. You

can also read articles in your spare time

on websites such as investopedia.com,

money.com, finance.yahoo.com, and

marketwatch.com.

Keeping up with your new year reso-

lutions can be challenging. However if

you set realistic targets and follow a

plan best suited to your needs you

will be well on your way to achieving

your goals for 2015!


5

The international delivery company UPS was founded in 1907

by two (2) teenagers with just one (1) bicycle and US$100.

There are no words in the English language which rhyme with

the words orange, bulb, silver, month or purple.

The fast food giant McDonald’s serves 75 hamburgers per sec-

ond.

Snails breathe through their feet.

Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in the

technology company for US$800 in 1976. Today it is worth

over US$58 billion.


Did You

Know?

Personal Finance Term of the Month

What is debt consolidation?

This is the process of combining a number of debts (typically unsecured loans) into

a single debt. This is usually done through a debt consolidation loan from a finan-

cial institution. The loan is used to pay off the borrower’s existing debts, leaving

the borrower with one repayment; i.e. the debt consolidation loan. By consolidat-

ing numerous debts, the borrower can benefit from a lower monthly repayment

and an ease in their cashflow. If you have several debts carrying (particularly if

they were obtained from different financial institutions) you should consult a finan-

cial advisor or loans specialist to see how you might benefit from a debt consolida-

tion.

6 LASCO Financial Services Limited Money Guide

Editor’s Note

The start of each new year always brings into sharp focus how fleet-

ing time really is. “The year finish already?!”, is what we usually ask

ourselves as we reflect on what we have achieved and the value we

have created for others in the past year. 2014 was an immensely

successful year for LASCO Financial Services Limited.

We achieved growth in all our core business lines; namely remit-

tance services, loans and foreign exchange. We also received awards

from our remittance partner MoneyGram International as well as the

Jamaica Stock Exchange.

These achievements are in no small part due to the support from our

loyal customers and partners as well as the hard work from our ded-

icated staff. This monthly publication is one of the avenues through

which we continue to express our unending gratitude and create for

all who will read it, ’everyday financial value’!

We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future issues.

Thanks for choosing LASCO Financial Services Limited!

Sincerely,

Jéan-Pierre A. Robinson

([email protected])

7 LASCO Financial Services Limited Money Guide

8

29 Red Hills Road

Kingston 10,

Jamaica W.I.

Tel: 906-7473

Fax: 960-4595

Website: lascojamaica.com

lasco financial services money guide january 2015 issue

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